Ugly But Good Hazelnut Cookies Recipes

UGLY-BUT-GOOD HAZELNUT COOKIES (BRUTTI MA BUONI)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Roast hazelnuts on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool briefly, then rub off skins with a clean kitchen towel. Coarsely chop hazelnuts.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 4 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add sugar. Beat until meringue is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt.
• Scrape meringue into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add chopped hazelnuts. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pan to make sure meringue does not burn, until mixture is light brown and pulls away from sides of pan, about 15 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled after first 5 minutes of cooking.)
• Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature. Fold in chocolate.
• Scoop mounds, about 2 tablespoons each, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
• Bake until cookies are crisp on outside but soft and chewy inside, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

UGLY BUT GOOD COOKIES

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven at 356 degrees F (180 degrees C). Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until the skins are mostly split and the nuts are light golden brown and fragrant (about 15 minutes).
• Remove from the oven and rub the hazelnuts until the loose skins come off.
• Let them cool completely and pulse in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg white and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the sugar and nuts.
• Spoon the batter on the baking sheet with a teaspoon or a tablespoon (it depends on how big you want your cookies) about 1.5 inches (4 cm) apart.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
• Store the ugly but good cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

HAZELNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and mix into egg mixture until just combined. Fold in chopped hazelnuts.
• Use a tablespoon to cut off little portions of dough; roll them into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet with room in between.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 20 minutes.

"UGLY BUT GOOD" HAZELNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• 2. Whip the egg whites and salt in an electric mixer with the whisk on medium speed until they are white and opaque and beginning to hold their shape. Increase the speed to medium high and whip in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to whip the whites until they hold a firm peak. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the ground hazelnuts.
• 3. Scrape the batter into a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is heated through, about 8 minutes.
• 4. Use 2 spoons to form 3/4-inch cookies. Use one spoon to scoop up some batter and the other to scrape it off the first spoon, rounding it somewhat as you do, and drop the cookies onto the prepared pan, spacing them about 1 inch apart from each other in all directions.
• 5. Bake the cookies until they are well colored and slightly firm, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• 6. Cool the cookies on the pan on a rack.
• Storage: Store the cookies in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.

UGLY-BUT-GOOD COOKIES

Steps:

• 1 Preheat the oven to 300°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets. 2 In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the egg whites and salt until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar. Beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. 3 On low speed, mix in the cocoa. Stir in the hazelnuts. 4 Scrape the mixture into a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. Be careful that it does not scorch. 5 Immediately drop the hot batter by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake 30 minutes or until firm and slightly cracked on the surface. 6 While the cookies are still hot, transfer them to a rack to cool, using a thin-blade metal spatula. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ITALIAN HAZELNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Position 2 racks as close to the center of the oven as possible; preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
• Pulse nuts and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Scrape into a large bowl.
• Beat egg whites and salt in another large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture. Add vanilla and gently but thoroughly mix until combined.
• Drop the batter by the tablespoons 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through.
• Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
• Gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• When the baking sheets are thoroughly cooled, repeat with the remaining batter.
• NOTE: TO TOAST AND SKIN HAZELNUTS.
• TO TOAST: Cook sliced or chopped nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Toast whole hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes.
• TO SKIN: Let the nuts cool for a few minutes, then rub together in a clean kitchen towel to remove most of the papery skins.